sakurayama hana no sakari ni kaze fukeba kozue o koshite shiranami zo tatsu
On the mount of Cherries So fine is the blossom that When the wind does blow, Passing o’er the treetops, Whitecaps arise!
Controller’s Graduate 9
Right
この春ははなにこころのあくがれてこのもとにてもくらしつるかな
kono haru wa hana ni kokoro no akugarete ko no moto nite mo kurashitsuru kana
This springtime By the blossoms my heart Is captivated, and Beneath the trees Does dwell!
Kerin’in Graduate 10
Both Left and Right, in terms of diction, tone and style are superb with no faults at all. Thus, this is a tie.
The final section of the Left’s poem lacks fluency, yet it has conception. As for the Right’s poem, in order for one’s heart to be captivated by the blossom on every single treetop, one would need to be walking around. If one is resting peacefully beneath the trees, then one should say that one’s heart is captured. This section sounds erroneous, so the Left should win.
akihagi no tsuyu mo yosuga no sagariba mo kaze fukitatsuru iro zo mi ni shimu
On the autumn bush clover Dewdrops rest upon The dangling leaves, Whipped up by the wind, Their hues sharply sink into my flesh.
The Former Minister of the Centre 51
Right (Win)
さだめなき風を待つ間もうつろひぬもとあらの萩にむすぶ白露
sadamenaki kaze o matsu ma mo utsuroinu motoara no hagi ni musubu shiratsuyu
While the unsettled Breeze they do await, Faded from The sparse bush clover have The clinging dewdrops.[1]
Kozaishō 52
The Left poem’s ‘rest upon the dangling leaves, whipped up by the wind’ seems a novel style, and yet, even though everything about dangling leaves is contained in the Ancient and Modern, it does not sound particularly evocative. The Right lacks even a small fault and appears gorgeous, so it should win.
[1] An allusive variation on: Topic unknown. 宮木野のもとあらの小萩つゆをおもみ風をまつごと君をこそまつ miyagino no / motoara no kohagi / tsuyu o omomi / kaze o matsu goto / kimi o koso matsu ‘On Miyagi Plain / The sparse bush clover / Weighed down with dewdrops / Awaits the wind, just as / I do wait for you…’ Anonymous (KKS XIV: 694)
shitaba ni wa iro naru tama ya kudakuramu kaze no fukishiku hagi no ue no tsuyu
From the underleaves Hues have the gemlets taken In their shattering? Spread by the gusting wind Are the dewdrops on the bush clover…
A Court Lady 49
Right (Win)
又やみむ又や見ざらん白露の玉おきしける秋萩の花
mata ya mimu mata ya mizaran shiratsuyu no tama okishikeru akihagi no hana
Will I see again, or Will I not Silver dewdrop Pearls spread upon The autumn bush clover blooms?
Ietaka 50
The Left’s poem does not seem to have a particularly superlative style. The Right’s poem, saying ‘will I see again, or will I not silver dewdrops’ is particularly charming and moving. Thus, it wins.
Former Director of the Bureau of Carpentry, Toshiyori[i]
Cherry
Round One
Left
みやまにはしひがかざをれはやけれどふもとのはなはことしさくめり
miyama ni wa shii ga kaza’ore hayakeredo fumoto no hana wa kotoshi sakumeri
Deep within the mountains, Brushwood is broken by the wind So swiftly, yet In the foothills the blossom Will bloom this year, it seems.[ii]
Lord Dainagon 1
Right
ちるはなをさそふとみつるはる風のうはのそらにもすててけるかな
chiru hana o sasou to mitsuru harukaze no uwa no sora ni mo sutetekeru kana
The scattered blossoms Look to be beckoned by The spring breezes, Even high up in the skies To be abandoned!
Lord Chūnagon 2
I would say there’s no reason to say that the poem of the Left is superb, yet it does have a little bit of interest. The poem of the Right’s ‘Even high up in the skies /To be abandoned!’ completely fails to exceed vulgar diction. Thus, I make the Left the winner.
The poem of the Left’s ‘Brushwood is broken by the wind’ and so forth cannot be called ordinary and is an extremely charming use of diction. However, if the branches are broken and lost, then it would appear difficult for them to bloom, yet the addition of ‘yet’ to ‘swiftly’ gives the impression that there are branches remaining, thus following this with ‘Will bloom this year, it seems’ appears clumsy.
The poem of the Right has nothing remarkable about it, and no particular errors. Even so, because except in exceptional circumstances, the Left must win the first round, I make the Left the winner.
[i] This match was initially judged by Fujiwara no Mototoshi, but at some point after this, one of the participants, Sōen, submitted an ‘Appeal’ (chinjō) claiming these were unfair, and Toshiyori was asked to re-judge the match. The result is that there are two manuscript traditions for this event, one with Mototoshi’s judgements and one with Toshiyori’s. I am including both sets of judgements here.
[ii] The end of winter-beginning of the Twelfth Month. みやまにははやまのあらしあらげなりしひのかざをれいくそかかれり miyama ni wa / hayama no arashi / aragenari / shii no kaza’ore / ikuso kakareri ‘Deep within the mountains / Across the timber slopes the storm wind / Rages; / Brushwood is broken by the wind / O’er countless tens of trees.’ Sone no Yoshitada (Yoshitada-shū 342)
[i] This poem is included in Kokin rokujō (VI: 3768), attributed to Ise, with the headnote ‘The scent of grasses’. It is also included in Ise-shū (88), with the headnote ‘The scent of grasses, in the Minister of Ceremonial’s Garden Match’.
[ii] This poem is included in Ise-shū (89), with the headnote ‘Gentian’ (rindō 竜胆).
